Texas Prisons

I just read your TX Pack and I am currently incarcerated at the Stevenson unit. There were a lot of great sources and the whole sticking together united as a voice for prisoner’s rights is very intriguing to me. I have 35 years and will probably spend most of it behind bars for I used to have a very horrible drinking problem. Reading your views and facts I look forward to being very much involved with this. I also believe that if things are handled in the right way, we will be able to do our time. Not have anyone dictate how we do this time.

I fully agree with you about the grievance process. I have no faith in this channel. In fact, every time I’ve used it I’ve only had one positive outcome, which brings me to my current problem. On July 25th, an officer was working the picket. They opened all the doors and was trying to do an in and out trying to get the convicts to close their own doors. Well, you know a lot of people wasn’t going it. So out of spite she, the officer in the picket, says over the intercom, “Ok. Y’all want to play games?” Well, it’s the end of July so you already know it’s super hot. This officer turns the heaters on full blast. And continued to leave them on for over an hour. When a bunch of us started asking for a supervisor she said, “No”.

Well, one of the men was able to slip out the door to go to the line bldg to call for a supervisor. When the sgt. came he went into the picket and spoke to her. The heaters were turned off and he came out of the picket he came to the door and said everything is off now, it should be ok, and left. The officer in the picket got the man’s ID and wrote him up for being out of place. Well that did not go anywhere. Well about 20 people got somewhat together and there was some grievances written. But because I personally did not oversee to everybody’s grievances, they were shut down because of their action requested was all wrong.

But I had my family call and talk to the warden. He told my mom that I was a liar and that there was no way the heaters were turned on because the gas had been turned off to the buildings two months ago. Well, after I talked to her again I told her that the gas could not be turned off because then we would not have hot water for showers which are also on the building. So I asked her to call and file a complaint with the ombudsman’s office. She tried and the number that I gave her was wrong. So I checked my resources and I had indeed given her the right number that I had which was the same number you had in your packet, 936-437-6791. So I gave her a few other Huntsville numbers so that maybe one of them would help her to get the right number. I’m going to call her back this morning and I’ll let you know how that goes. I even gave her the number to Executive Director Brad Livingston’s office. But Brad Livingston has retired. Do you know who the new exec director is now?

I am very vocal and have a lot of people respect for me. You also mentioned in your pack about a correspondence study group. I want to become a part of that and gain more resources. There are a lot of people that don’t have anyone in the world. But there are a lot of sharp people in here that will stand up for what’s right. I ask you to sign me up for any newsletter, information and other things that will help me start a study group here. I believe that knowledge is power and I look forward to being a contributor to this and being an integral part also. I encourage you to continue in everything you believe in. You can stay in touch with me as I will stay in touch with you. I have people on the outside that need to be guided in the right direction that believe in me. I just have to have the right resources. My mom is disabled and is on a fixed income so every extra penny she has goes toward the phone so that she can make sure that I know that she is in my corner. She will do anything that I ask I just have to have the right knowledge to lead her in the right direction. So know that you have someone worthy of this. Thank you for your knowledge. I look forward to building onto this.

I am an inmate at a Texas prison (Ramsey III) serving a 20 year sentence for burglary, my second trip. This time around has been a real experience, the injustices, living conditions, disregard of policy, a grievance system that is a complete closed loop, with no way around it, and no grievance manual to go by. Also being denied our indigent supplies by the law library, who disperses those out at her discretion, when she feels like it, and when you grieve it, it becomes “lost” until the following month.

I have seen inmates with hepatitis defecate on dormitory floors also wash their penises in water fountains and sinks and be left to lay in their bunks in feces for eight hours, no one cares. I’ve been to medical twice in the past two weeks (the past week we’ve been on lockdown) and did not see the doctor at all. Once sat in a holding cage for four hours and watched the doctors go home. They never knew I was there. The next time Officer Smith made me “got to the house” for asking how much longer it would be. I had already waited three hours. I also lost a pair of brand new Rhino boots in shakedown that were papered (legal), but they were “altered” because the laces were changed.

Can someone send me a packet on my rights? I don’t have any as far as I can see, I also would like to get your bi-monthly publication of Under Lock & Key as I am part of the struggle. I am indigent, my family are all drug addicts (meth) and have pretty much written me off as I don’t make any commissary. I don’t have any anything to send you, sorry, believe me if I did I would. I support your movement and all that you all are doing and really appreciate that someone cares about us inmates because these guards do not. Thank you, any literature you can send would be greatly appreciated, thanks for caring.

My health has gotten worse and my breathing as well. The P.A. here, named Schafer, has approved for me to have a pillow to raise my head up in the air, so I am able to breathe. I have a pass for this pillow but the laundry and medical tells me they don’t give pillows anymore. So why did the P.A. give me a year pass to have one?? However I still gasp for air and my health is bad. Any way if you can help on this I thank you. I filed a grievance on this, still waiting to hear something on that.

Hey! I’ve been having problems writing grievances on officers. Also the grievances that I write for some reason never get answered or sent to me. An officer by the name of Sergeant Hamlin lost my radio, and it’s been going on 5 months since I wrote a grievance about it with no answer.

I would like to receive the Texas package for writing grievances. Every time a inmate try to write the Warden or Huntsville, the mail room take it away. Even the truck mail we send out.

We been trying to reach out to someone about not having A/C in our cells. The vents are off completely and it’s been between 100 to 95 degrees of heat in Amarillo, Tx. If you would send that package I will be very grateful, of if you could help with these issues also.

The unit I’m on hardly ever gives us outside rec and we never use the gym. But every day there is an officer in the picket that watches our rec yard and the rec yard on the other side of the wall from us, which is medium custody. Due to them already being medium custody and the officers know they’ll go off cause they’re already locked down most of the day, they give them rec outside. But not us. The sun is a source of vitamin D for our skin.

The help I need is to write this up on a grievance, but I need any kind of cases, policy, whatever you have access to that I don’t have, including proof of medical study, to show being outside is good for you. Several people want to file on it but don’t have anything to cite in our grievances because they never give us rec in the afternoon. If we are lucky we get it in the early morning or night. Please help with whatever you can send ASAP. Thanks for your help again.

The other day I was attacked by this white boy guard, and he choked me until I passed out. They have it all on camera so I’m going to try to sue this fucked up place.

But the thing is I’m broke and I don’t really have much experience on this or where to start. I really need a dictionary so my spelling will be alright. I was wondering you guys can help me? And if you have any other info that might be of use.

I see in the Jailhouse Lawyers Manual that the prison library should have a state digest for Texas. I have tried to request this state digest but had no luck in receiving it. Since I am in segregation and can’t get out, we have to rely on the law library staff to fill our requests and bring it to our cells. Most of the time we don’t get anything and the staff will not send us notice of why we didn’t get it. I have been requesting the same case for the past 3 or 4 months and have not received it.

Here on this unit us inmates who are in segregation can’t get the whole books anymore. We have to request by citation cases only. They got a library holding list that’s got all the books but even if I request the master index in order to request the part of the book I need to look through, which they are supposed to photocopy a section of pages to bring to you, they never bring you nothing!

The staff here at this unit law library don’t even know key numbers or statute numbers, and don’t know most of case citation numbers. I have to ask a number of times to receive the Black’s Law Dictionary index so that I may find the part of its pages that I need to research for my case. But never received it.

On July 2nd, 2016 my wife came from Texarkana to the Wynne Unit in Huntsville, Texas. What happened after our four hour contact visit is as follows:

Pam (wife) was leaving the unit. She had her car searched by a male TDCJ guard who accidentally pushed the lock button and closed the door (with the keys inside). “Pam is mentally disabled” and became sick from the heat after standing by her locked car for over an hour while someone looked for a clothes hanger. The guards allowed her to cool off inside.

The unit warden - Warden Strong - has been called. She questions Pam on who she came to see. The warden’s harassment starts the moment Pam says my name. Bad mouthing me to Pam, she then takes Pam to a building to use the phone. The warden instructs her to call my mother. Warden Strong is on the phone with my mother bad mouthing me. When she sees the call is not to her advantage she hangs up on her, turns to Pam and says “She is a b***h isn’t she?” Disagreement cost her a ride back to her car. The warden made her walk back.

Back at the car Warden Strong is telling several TDCJ guards that what happened or happens next is not TDCJ responsibility. The warden tells Pam that she needs to break a window, if not she will, or call the Fire Department, or a tow truck to get the car off TDCJ property. With all of this unprovoked harassment/bullying Pam finds a rock, strikes the window several times and when it shatters Pam cuts her hand. At no time during Pam getting sick from the heat, to cutting her hand on the window did Warden Strong allow first aid or provide it. Not even a band-aid.

Pam’s treatment by Warden Strong had Pam so upset that she almost ended up in Dallas. Upon her getting on the proper highway she got a ticket for excessive speeding. “Thank God it wasn’t worse.” At first Pam was afraid to go forward with this. Now she isn’t. She is concerned about retaliation to her, our families, or myself.

I would like to receive the latest Texas Activist Pack. My main concern here is the petition to ensure our grievances are addressed. I personally have about twenty-five grievances that have been blatantly ignored and unlawfully answered pertaining to theft of mail, theft of personal property, denial of access to the law library, unlawful disciplinary procedures, and constitutional violations.

I have contacted the Postal Inspector seeking to file criminal charges for mail fraud, and theft of mail. I am awaiting a personal interview. I had began a campaign to file a Federal civil action for theft, redress of grievances, and unlawful acts. Yet while doing investigating work in the law library I was suddenly denied access to the law library about four months ago by only being scheduled during required programatic activities.

I am an ex-officer for TDCJ (as in very recently.) I can probably answer questions you may have about the training that is given and other insider information. Being on both sides of the fence has opened my eyes to a lot.

For instance, you are correct as to the corruption of the discipline courts. I myself have been ordered to lie about them and at court hearings of inmates. A flat-out lie that cost some inmates good time and classification levels. All done in fear for my own job and the rank higher than me.

I can also say now after being incarcerated for approximately 10 months that I have found that it’s the system itself that makes the offenders act the way they do. I am here just to do my time and get out but the officers are the ones who make it so I can’t.

The TDCJ system is corrupt and needs to be cleaned up. The offenders would be happier ans the officers would also do better.